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Theo Galavan
Theodore "Theo" Dumas '''(later '''Galavan) is the main antagonist in the Rise of the Villains arc, and a major antagonist in the Wrath of the Villains ''arc of the second season in the TV series '' , who made his debut at the beginning of the season alongside his sister Tabitha. He is portrayed by James Frain who also played Franklin Mott, Eric Renard, and Reyes. Overview His family having been driven out of Gotham centuries ago, Theo and his sister Tabitha were brought up by the Order of St. Dumas, their family order. Being indoctrinated from childhood on, Theo lived his youth in the firm belief that he had to take revenge on the City of Gotham - and especially the Wayne family. After arriving at Gotham City, he quickly manages to become the city's mayor through manipulation, deception and blackmail. This includes kidnapping the mayor, forcing him to abdicate and forming the criminal group known as the Maniax only so that the city could see him as a hero once he killed Jerome, the leader of the Maniax, and forcing Oswald Cobblepot to eliminate political rivals for him. Cobblepot is forced to comply because Theo captured his mother. After Penguin attempts to deceive Theo, Theo has Oswald's mother killed by Tabitha. While seen as a savior in the eyes of the public, he in truth plans to destroy the Wayne Family and their legacy, as his ancestors were driven out of the city by them two centuries ago. His actions eventually culminate in the abduction of Bruce Wayne and the plans to sacrifice him in a ceremony hosted by the Order of St. Dumas. This plan brings Jim Gordon and Penguin to combine forces which leads to Galavan's death by the hands of Gordon. Galavan's body is delivered to Indian Hill, a research facility led by Professor Strange. Theo's body is experimented on and eventually, Strange manages to successfully reanimate him. Despite showing enhanced physical abilities, Theo's mind seems to have suffered a great deal during the reanimation. After a conversation with Edward Nygma, Hugo Strange finds a new way to put Theo to use by giving him a new persona. Strange manages to convince the fragmented, confused and extremely dangerous Theo that he is his father and that his name is Azrael, a knight of the Sacred Order of the Saint of Dumas to be used as an "instrument to enforce God's will." During this mission, parts of Theo resurface in Azrael and he sets out to fulfil his original mission - killing Bruce Wayne. During a showdown at Wayne Manor, he is ultimately killed by the combined efforts of Bruce, Alfred, Gordon, Penguin and Butch. As his body is completely destroyed, further reanimation is impossible. Powers and Abilities *'Resurrection Enhancements': He was artificially resurrected by Hugo Strange, thereby coming back to life, but with a fractured mind & a delusional personality. **'Enhanced Strength': After his resurrection, Hugo Strange notes that Theo was as strong as an ox. He was able to toss strong orderlies around with just a push of his hand. **'Enhanced Speed': After his resurrection, Hugo notes that Theo was as fast as a snake. He is able to move & react faster than shotgun rounds. **'Enhanced Healing': After his resurrection, his bullet wound disappeared without even a scar. Even after receiving major physical traumas, he is still able to continue fighting. *'Hand-to-Hand Combatant': Theo was shown to have advanced martial arts skills as seen when he manages to best Jim Gordon in hand-to-hand combat, with little effort. This combined with his enhanced physical abilities, make him a very powerful fighting machine. *'Guerrilla Warfare': He is able to use predatory techniques and disappear into the shadows, something which mirror's Batman's predatory techniques in the DC Comics. Appearances Trivia *Although an original character for the show, Theo Galavan takes on the mantle of Azrael. In the DC Comics continuity Azrael is part of a group of assassins created by the Sacred Order of Saint Dumas to "enforce God's Will" and first made his debut in Batman: Sword of Azrael #1. The two characters to take on the mantle of Azrael are Jean-Paul Valley Jr. and Michael Washington Lane, the latter whom made his appearance in the Batman: Arkham game series, appearing in Arkham City and Arkham Knight. *His plan is also similar to The Old Man's plan from the 1987 action film RoboCop where he would rebuild Gotham into a modernized city which would involve destroying people's homes. *Theo using Penguin to help cause chaos in Gotham City and building himself a good public image is a possible reference to Max Shreck from Batman Returns. However in this instance it is Theo who wants to become Mayor to carry out his plans, whereas Shreck wanted Penguin to become Mayor. *Theo may also be indirectly responsible for the creation of the Joker in the Gotham universe, as he was the one who orchestrated Jerome Valeska's reign of terror on Gotham City and even advised him to use his insane laughter when committing the crimes. Even after killing Jerome his legacy has continued on with copycats which may one day lead to the true creation of the Clown Prince of Crime. *Interestingly, despite having been dead he grew a beard *From the way Bruce looked at him in the episode "Azrael" where he made his acrobatic escape, it is implied that it was this demonstration from Azrael that inspired Bruce to become Batman. *Theo could be seen as an "evil" counterpart to Bruce Wayne, as well as Bruce's future alter ego Batman. **The pair of them are billionaires and philanthropists. **The pair want to help the city of Gotham, although Theo mostly did it for his own ends and through the use of corruption and manipulation to get what he wants. **Both their families come from founders of Gotham City. **Theo ends up taking up the mantle of "Azrael" (although not through choice) and ends up donning a costume, and his movements and fight styles give him the look of Bruce's future superhero alter ego "Batman". Difference is though Theo is willing to kill and cause violence in the name of "justice", whereas Bruce refuses to kill anyone and follows a code. **Theo shares similarities to a younger Bruce Wayne in appearance. **In an interesting case, Jerome Valeska almost acts like Theo Galavan's twisted version of Batman's sidekick Robin. Jerome originated from a circus like Robin, lost his parents (although in very different circumstances), was given a home by Galavan and taken under his wing in order to be trained to help out with his cause. 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